Pandeleteius variegatus (Pierce)

Howden, Anne T., 2008, The species of Pandeleteius Schoenherr of coastal Chile and Peru (Coleoptera, Curculionidae), Zootaxa 1773, pp. 55-62 : 56-58

Pandeleteius variegatus (Pierce)

( Figs. 1–12 , 20 )

Menetypus variegatus Pierce 1915: 11 , pl. 2, fig. 2.

Pandeleteius variegatus (Pierce) : Emden & Emden 1939: 257, Wibmer & O’Brien 1986: 71.

Diagnosis. Apex of epistoma reaching one half or more to interantennal line; posterior margin of epistoma low, sides finely carinate. Elytra in profile almost flat, declivity distinct ( Fig. 1 ). Both sexes with numerous long, fine setae on inner surface of fore coxa, base of fore femur and fore tibia. Fore femur greatly but gradually swollen ( Fig. 2 ); ventral surface usually with nodules. Fore tibia straight, apex usually curved distally. Ventrite 5 basally without or with very few scales, in male narrowly to broadly, deeply emarginate, the emargination convex as if pushed in rather than cut out. Aedeagus not hooked at apex; internal sac complex ( Fig. 3 ). Vagina with complex, heavily sclerotized bursal sclerite ( Figs. 6–8 ) approximately one third as long as contracted ovipositor.

Redescription. Length: male 2.3–3.8 mm, female 3.0– 4.5 mm; width: male 0.9–1.3 mm, female 1.0– 1.7 mm. Color: dorsal pattern ranging from entirely ashy white with irregular tan maculations on elytra to vivid color pattern as follows: head and rostrum light brown with black triangle on occiput and short white supraocular vitta; pronotum dark, medially with indistinct diamond-shape, dorsolaterally with white vitta flanked by narrower admedian vitta; elytra with broad white or tan “V” encompassing most of declivity, “V” bordered anteriorly with black or piceous; intervals 1 and 2 partially white or tan; patterns variously fragmented symmetrically and asymmetrically. Rostrum: epistoma triangular with row of one to three pairs of short, fine setae along sides. Eye prominent, very slightly elliptical in lateral view, separated from convex surface of head by three or four scales. Pronotum: often with small flattened or very slightly concave transverse depression. Scutellum usually glabrous. Elytra: 2.1–2.3 times (male), 2.5– 2.8 times (female) longer than prothorax; 1.1– 1.3 times wider across humeri than across prothorax, 1.6 –1.8 times longer than wide; in dorsal view male with sides straight or slightly divergent, lacking apical umbo, apex broadly rounded, female with sides slightly rounded, apex narrowly rounded. Legs: fore femur as in Fig. 2 ; inner edge with row of denticles on anterior face, sometimes with additional denticles; denticles sometimes lacking in male. Ventral surface: thoracic sterna and abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 densely squamose, ventrites 3 and 4 with scales sparser, ventrite 5 without or with fewer than 10 normal scales basally; margin in male ( Fig. 11 ) as in Diagnosis, in female explanate, slightly convex apically with pair of shallow basal depressions ( Fig. 12 ). Genitalia of male (n=6) as in Diagnosis ( Figs. 3–5 ): aedeagus with body 0.7–1.0 mm long, apodemes 0.5–0.7 mm long, dorsolateral edges rounded, dorsal surface distally with median portion coriaceous and granulate; internal sac complex, approximately half as long as aedeagus, containing short, slender, lightly sclerotized tube between pair of elongate pieces; tegmen 0.5–0.7 mm long, with pair of long parameres; sternite 9 ( Fig. 5 ) 0.9–1.1 mm long. Genitalia of female (n=8) as in Diagnosis ( Figs. 6–8 ); ventral baculus 0.7 mm long; vagina proximally with complex, very heavily sclerotized bursal sclerite ( Figs. 7–8 ) in form of a stout rod 0.4–0.5 mm long, forked distally; each fork dorsally with slender, curved rod 0.3–0.4 mm long bearing four minute knobs on outer edge; proximal end of bursal sclerite appearing to be free but closely encased in tissue for at least half its length, end irregularly shaped; spermathecal duct 1.5–1.6 mm long, situated ventrally of bursal sclerite; sternite 8 ( Figs. 9–10 ) 1.2–1.5 mm long, apodeme abruptly curved in older specimens.

Material. Holotype, male (not examined): “Ex. cotton squares” (hand printed in ink); “Dept. Piura/ Peru ” (mechanically printed); “ CHT TOWNSEND coll” (mechanically printed); “No. 22009" (hand printed in ink). “ Holotype /l8449/ U.S. N.M.” (on red paper) ( USNM). Paratypes: 3 males, l female with labels identical to those of holotype. Other specimens: 47 males, 38 females. PERU. Cajamarca: nr. Celendín, Llangua, Zonanga. Huánuco: Huánuco. Lima: Chorrillos, Chosica, Cocachacra, Lima, Rimac Valley. Piura: Piura. Department unknown: Huascaray, Santa Ana. ( AMNH, AUEM, CCBM, CMNC, CWOB, HAHC, SEMC, USNM).

Distribution. Western Peru from the Departments of Cajamarca south to Lima (fig. 20), from near sea level to 2000 m elevation in dry scrub.

Biology. Pandeleteius variegatus specimens have been reported from an irrigation ditch and a streamlet at 2000 m (CMNC, SEMC), dry scrub at 2000 m (AUEM), a suburban vacant field at 100 m (CWOB) and on “alcalifa” - an ornamental plant (USNM). Both C.H.T. Townsend, the collector of the type series, and Pierce thought that P. variegatus might breed in some part of the cotton plant. This has not been established, to my knowledge, although cotton has been domesticated in this area of Peru since 6000 B.P.! ( Balter, 2007; 1833.).

Remarks. The species was described from a series of specimens, not just the holotype. A female is illustrated on an unnumbered insert between pages 8 and 9 entitled “Weevils Reared from Cotton in Peru ” (Pierce, Plate II, Fig. 2 ). There is no mention of P. variegatus actually having been reared from cotton. This same female paratype bears the label “Drawn by Bradford”, and on it there is a dried regurgitate across the apex of the rostrum, which explains why it appears so vague in his illustration.

Pierce named this species aptly; the color pattern of the dorsum is usually variegated and most other characters are variable. The complex structures of the male and female genitalia are the most constant and reliable characters for distinguishing the species. A series of two males and a female from Santa Ana differ in several characters: all scales of the rostrum apicad of the interantennal line are green, many are shiny and metallic, the scales of the sides of the rostrum are mostly green and there are few or no denticles on the fore femur. However, the bursal sclerite complex is like that in the other specimens.

Figures

FIGURE 20. Map of southern Peru and northern Chile showing known distribution of Pandeleteius species. P. variegatus (Pierce), purple; P. peruvianus Voss, yellow; P. distinctus (Voss), green; P. baccharis Kuschel, red.

FIGURES 1 – 19. Structural details of Pandeleteius variegatus Pierce and Pandeleteius baccharis Kuschel. 1 – 12, P. va riegatus; 13 – 19, P. baccharis. 1, female paratype (allotype), lateral view; 2, male, fore femur and tibia; 3, aedeagus with internal sac everted, lateral view; 4, internal sac everted, dorsal view; 5, male, sternite 9; 6, female, genitalia, lateral view; 7, bursal sclerite, dorsal view; 8, bursal sclerite, ventral view; 9, female, sternite 8, lateral view (Huánuco); 10, female, sternite 8, lateral view (Cocachacra), enlarged diagram; 11, male, ventrite 5; 12, female, ventrite 5; 13, female, lateral view; 14, male, apex of elytra; 15, male, genitalia; 16, male, tegmen; 17, male, sternite 9; 18, a, female, genitalia (b, enlargement of sclerite); 19, female, sternite 8.